Believing that
plant-based proteins can be a staple of any kitchen or diet would have been a
pipe-dream to Michael Abramson a few years ago.
Today it’s his reality at Toronto’s only vegetarian butcher shop –
YamChops (www.yamchops.com) --- (I just love the name). In
early 2013, Abramson and his wife Toni sold their 27-year old advertising
agency and launched The SixCob (Six Communities of Business Inc.). YamChops is The SixCob’s first community.
Nestled on the south
side of College Street in a strip just west of little Brazil, (trust me, I know
because I had to wend my way to the store, just after Brazil’s latest victory
in the Soccer World Cup), it’s a nugget in an area dominated by greasy Mexican
taco joints and fast food pizza shops.
“Our recipes appeal to
all types of eaters: flexitarians, those who choose to reduce their meat
consumption, vegetarians and vegans,” says Michael Abramson. “We have lots of
fun and take some creative license when we turn a commonly understood animal
protein on its head.”
Earlier this week, I
sampled a great example of this - YamChops’ Carrot Lox. Made with organic carrots cured in Abramson’s
secret marinade, it’s topped with capers, red onion, dill, cashew and sour
cream. Lox is one of my favorite
anytime snacks – and YamChops’ Carrot
Lox was about as good as I’ve ever had.
From a walk around
this bright and uber-funkily appointed store, it looks like YamChops’ mantra is
to deliver an eclectic menu of unique plant-based food – and I like that
thinking in Toronto – jaded by over-priced and over-rated organic cuisine (if
you can even call it that).
Now, to note is that
organic food in not cheap – and nor is anything at YamChops cheap either. At first blush, the store’s Salad Day’s juice
is priced at an eye-popping $9.50 a litre – expensive. Not that expensive when the polite server
mentioned that it contains a whopping 40
pounds or organic apple, celery, cucumber, spinach, romaine, kale, ginger and
lemon. I tasted some. My verdict?
Worth every cent!
Abramson holds some
impressive qualifications too – He is ACA certified in Natural Foods, holds a
professional diploma in vegetarian cuisine from the Cordon Vert Academy and has
a professional plant-based cooking certification from Rouxbe.
Also for sampling was
YamChops’ Tuna-less Tuna Sliders. Each
was a silky-smooth-yet-chunky-in-the-right-places blend of free range chick
peas, mashed to tuna-like consistency, dressed with vegan mayonnaise, dill
pickle, red onion and nori. Alas, these
samples were at a station towards the back of the store --- and they were that
good, they shoulda, coulda, woulda positioned them up front.
YamChops is at 705
College Street, three blocks east of Ossington.
Call them, email them or tweet them at 416.645.0117, TalkToUs@YamChops.com or @YamChopsTO.
